Cryosphere

Royal Space Navy

The Royal Space Navy is the starfaring arm of the military of the
Empire. After the disaster at the Battle of
Gibraltar in 2026, it became apparent that space control was of vital
importance, moreso even than air control had been before.
To this end, the handful of orbital warships being operated or constructed for
the Air Force, the Ministry of Space, and the Royal Navy were consolidated under
Royal Navy control.

The organisational complexities of handling both surface-going and spacefaring
vessels in the same management structure began to show soon, and by 2030, the
force had split into two - the Royal Space Navy, and the Royal Surface Navy.
(The Surface Navy still exists today, albiet in a vastly reduced form).

The 2030s were a very good decade for the Navy, with
HMS Beagle's discovery of an
extraterrestrial intellegence, the succesful colonisation
of New Antarctica, and the
victory at the Battle of Alpha
Centauri, and this led to a massive ship-building
program.

The recent hyperspace mining of the Sol system, has adversely affected the
Royal Space Navy's ability to project power in the extrasolar regions. Over
three-quarters of capital ships were at Sol at the time, the handful that
weren't being mainly lightly-armed exploratory vessels or older ships. There
is only one extrasolar shipyard controlled by the Empire. These will be trying
times for the Empire, as we seek to maintain control of our holdings, and
then try and develop a technology for removing the mines.